Leading Edge Bomber Now a Museum Showpiece
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By Sandra I. Erwin and Grace Jean
An avant-garde unmanned combat aircraft that just two years ago was seen as the future of the Air Force has been relegated to a museum display.
Boeing, the manufacturer of the X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle, announced that one of the two prototypes it built for the Air Force is going to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The other is headed to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
“The X-45A made history and laid the groundwork for future unmanned combat aircraft with its 64 mishap-free flights. We take great pride that they will be displayed for the world to see at these museums,” said Dave Koopersmith, X-45 program manager for Boeing Advanced Systems.
At the Smithsonian, the X-45A will be suspended in mid-air. At the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, ironically, the UCAV will be displayed in the “Cold War Gallery.”
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